Santa Cruz leaders craft plan to push out drug dealers at Pogonip

SANTA CRUZ -- Endless drug deals and illegal camps in Pogonip are pushing city leaders to look at new ideas that would drive out the crime and welcome more joggers and walkers.

The 640-acre, city-owned greenbelt between Harvey West Park and UC Santa Cruz is notorious for hiding significant heroin dealing and homeless camp sites among the thick timber, shrubs and grass.

But the hilly terrain is also a popular area for people to walk their dogs, explore nature and hike along the eight miles of groomed trails, which is what the area was intended for when the city bought the open space in 1988.

"The best way to ensure public safety there is to have the public use it as much as possible," Councilman Ryan Coonerty said Thursday. "We're looking to intensify the use by the general public as much as possible."

Under consideration is construction of a new trail between Golf Club Drive and Highway 9, an area not widely used by the public that has been known to harbor illegal activities such as drug use and camping.

The trail proposal is scheduled to be presented to the city Parks and Recreation Commission in July, and would later be discussed and voted on by the City Council before construction could begin. City leaders expect issues of cost and environmental review to be raised.

Any changes to Pogonip would require amending the Pogonip master plan, a document that lays out how the open space should be managed by the city.

Pogonip problems have been exacerbated in recent months by reduced parks coverage by police officers and parks rangers.

There are two sworn officers, one community service officer and a sergeant regularly working the beat. Two community service officers left for other jobs and a third has been placed on light duty.

Two years ago, police had seven people in the parks unit, including five community service officers.

The team of four park rangers has been more reliably staffed than the police team during the last couple of years, but it recently lost a ranger to another job.

Police say they would support efforts to help make Pogonip more popular for recreation, not hidden crime.

"It truly has reached epidemic proportions," police spokesman Zach Friend said. "It is our intent to have this open space be welcoming to the community again and increased usage coupled with increased enforcement of illegal activities is a step in the right direction."

Chief Ranger John Wallace believes drug dealers would turn away from an area crowded with families and people running and walking.

"The only way to get the drug dealers and users to permanently stay out is to get the good in. They don't want to get near the public," Wallace said. "You gotta bring the public in."

Parks Commissioner Hilary Bryant said she looks forward to learning more about the new trail idea.

"From the perspective of public safety, it's fantastic," Bryant said. "Public safety is so on everyone's minds. If people use it for the right reasons, people using it for the wrong reasons will go away."

The city is also weighing the possibility of moving the Homeless Garden Project from the Westside to Pogonip.